Community Cards
Community cards are the five shared cards dealt face up in Texas Hold'em: the flop, turn and river. Every player combines them with their own hole cards.
Community cards are the five face-up cards in the middle of the table that every player can use. Together they are called the board. In Texas Hold'em they arrive in three stages: three cards on the flop, one on the turn and one on the river. Each player makes the best five-card hand from their two hole cards plus these five shared cards.
How the board is dealt
- Preflop betting finishes.
- The dealer burns one card face down, then deals the three-card flop. A betting round follows.
- Another card is burned and the turn is dealt. A betting round follows.
- A final card is burned and the river is dealt. A last betting round follows, then the showdown if two or more players remain.
The board is only dealt as far as needed. If everyone but one player folds on the flop, the turn and river are never shown.
Reading the board
Because everyone shares the same cards, a big part of poker skill is asking what the board makes possible. Players call this board texture.
- Dry boards such as K♠ 7♦ 2♣ have few draws. Strong hands are rare and hands tend to stay the same strength.
- Wet boards such as J♥ T♥ 8♣ allow many straights and flushes, so hand strength can change dramatically on later streets.
- Paired boards such as 9♠ 9♦ 4♣ make trips and full houses possible.
Example: everyone shares the same cards
Three players reach the river on a board of Q♣ J♦ 7♥ 7♠ 2♣. Player A holds A♣ Q♦ and has two pair, queens and sevens, with an ace kicker. Player B holds T♦ 9♦ and has only a pair of sevens with queen-jack-ten kickers, because the straight draw missed. Player C holds 7♦ 3♦ and has three sevens. Same board, three very different hands. Player C wins.
A useful habit is to describe the board to yourself in one sentence each street, such as 'two hearts, one pair, no straight possible yet'. That quick summary tells you which hands your opponents could hold and keeps you from overlooking a completed draw.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting that the board helps opponents too. If you hold A♥ A♦ and the board shows four hearts, anyone with a single heart beats your aces.
- Overrating a pair that comes from the board. On K♠ K♦ 5♣, every player at the table has a pair of kings. Your kicker matters far more than the pair itself.
- Not tracking how the nuts change. Each new card can change which hand is the nuts, so re-evaluate after every street.
Frequently asked questions
How many community cards are there in Texas Hold'em?
There are five community cards: three on the flop, one on the turn and one on the river.
Can you win using only the community cards?
You can play the board if it is your best hand, but every other remaining player can too, so the best you can usually do is split the pot.
Why does the dealer burn a card?
Burning a card before each street protects against anyone glimpsing or marking the top card of the deck.
Related poker terms
- Flop — The flop is the first three community cards dealt face up together in Texas Hold'em, followed by the second betting round of the hand.
- Turn — The turn is the fourth community card in Texas Hold'em, dealt alone after the flop betting round. It is also called fourth street.
- River — The river is the fifth and final community card in Texas Hold'em. After it comes the last betting round and, if needed, the showdown.
- Hole Cards — Hole cards are the two private cards dealt face down to each player in Texas Hold'em. Only you see them, and you combine them with the five shared cards.
- The Nuts — The nuts is the best possible hand given the community cards at that moment. Holding the nuts means no other hand can beat you, though ties are possible.
- Kicker — A kicker is a side card that does not form part of a pair or set but still counts in your five-card hand, used to break ties between similar hands.